by Jaden Skye
The entire room fell silent then.
“The bitch got him in the knick of time,” Alice exclaimed. “The money’s still hers right now.”
“Not if she murdered him,” Wayne interjected. “The will is definitely going to be contested.”
“It will be contested anyway!” Alice declared. “The question is, did Tyron also write me out of his will? He swore to me he wouldn’t. He told me that after Megan got her part, whatever was left belonged to me.”
“How about your two daughters?” Olivia suggested. “Tyron could have left his money to them.”
“No, he didn’t do that! I’m positive of it.” Alice sneered. “He told me over and over whatever was left was going to be mine.”
“Tyron had many companions, though,” Wayne interjected. “You never know who else he promised money to, as well.”
Alice glared at Wayne strangely. “That’s right, he did have many escorts around. And I knew about every last one of them. But at least when the police hear that Megan was cut out of the will, that’s solid evidence against her, isn’t it? They’ll have to take her in!”
“I’m not sure,” said Olivia softly.
“Not sure? You’ve got to be crazy!” Alice became enraged. “They’re taking her in! They have to! It’s enough for now. Go home. Go back to where you came from. You’re needed there.”
*
Immediately after Olivia and Wayne left Clay and Alice’s home, they put in a call to Megan.
“Come back up here immediately,” Megan demanded. “My lawyer is with me and she says it looks bad. We’re swimming in turbulent waters.”
“We’ll be on the next plane back,” Olivia promptly replied.
“Why did you go down there anyway?” Megan was disturbed. “Alice isn’t my friend, she’s always hated me.”
“We wanted to speak to Clay as well,” said Olivia.
That bothered Megan even more. “Why Clay?” she demanded.
“We just wanted a new point of view,” said Olivia. “Clay seems like a straightforward guy. Different from the others.”
“Yes, he is,” Megan breathed. “Just get back up here fast and we’ll talk.”
*
The trip back to Naples seemed to take longer than the one to Key Largo. They were caught in bad traffic on their way to the airport and Olivia feared they would miss the plane. She wasn’t looking forward to facing Megan either. Both Olivia and Wayne had some serious reservations about her now. And also some important questions.
Olivia and Wayne sat in the airport waiting to board the flight. Wayne was on his phone with Chief of Police Gallant, listening intently to every word he said. Olivia gazed about, watching families come and go, couples holding hands, old friends reuniting at the gate. She suddenly felt lonely. How had it come to this? Her trips were all about business only. There was never anyone there waiting to greet her with joy on the other end.
Wayne hung up the phone and turned to Megan immediately. “More news,” he declared.
“What?” Olivia felt a sudden chill.
“Looks like things are coming to a close,” Wayne breathed. “I’ve seen this happen before, all of a sudden evidence starts rolling in. It’s pretty hard to stop the floodgates when they open.”
“What else came in?” Olivia felt as though the tide was pulling Megan out to sea. “Is it evidence that looks bad for Megan?”
“It’s another piece in the puzzle,” Wayne exclaimed. “It’s not any one piece exactly that does it, but the weight of them all when they start to pile up.”
Olivia shivered. “What is it?”
“Well, as you know, the police have been looking more into Bella recently. It must have made her nervous, because I just heard that Bella came into the police station yesterday with something of her own. She found an old surveillance tape in the basement, of Tyron yelling at Megan for all he was worth.”
“Bella suddenly found that?” Olivia was aghast. “Convenient.”
“Sounds like she was rattled and looked pretty hard,” said Wayne. “She obviously gave the video to the police to take suspicion off herself.”
“And the police are buying into it?” asked Olivia.
“It’s not about buying into it,” Wayne retorted. “They’ve been watching Tyron on the video, furious with Megan, raging at her.”
“Are we looking at a case of domestic abuse?” Olivia wondered if the police had a new take on it.
“You mean do the police think Megan killed Tyron in self-defense?” asked Wayne.
“I wasn’t thinking Megan killed anyone,” Olivia objected when suddenly the loudspeaker announced that their plane was now boarding.
“We’ll find out soon what the police are thinking,” Wayne replied as they went to board their flight. “Bella will be at the station all day. The police are keeping her there for questioning. They want us to come in as soon as we return, look at the video and talk to Bella as well.”
“Sure,” said Olivia, nervously. “We’ll go to the station but first I want to talk to Megan alone, at her home. After all, we’re working for her. She deserves that, at least.”
“She certainly does,” agreed Wayne as the line to board started moving and they quickly stepped onto the plane home.
CHAPTER TWENTY
When Olivia and Wayne arrived at Megan’s home, the door had been left open for them and they slipped in. As soon as they entered, Olivia felt a heavy, somber mood all over the place. Not only was it empty, but evening had fallen. By now it was dark and no one had turned on a light.
“Megan,” Olivia called out, as they walked around.
Wayne went to a lamp and turned it on as they waited for an answer.
“Are you there, Megan?” Olivia called out again.
Instead of Megan, her lawyer, Cameron Fern, walked into the room defiantly. Beautifully dressed and groomed as before, Cameron had a strange look on her face this time.
“Megan is upstairs in her room,” Cameron informed them. “She asked me to tell you both to please go upstairs.”
“Thank you,” Olivia responded quickly. “Are you coming up with us?”
“No, I’m not.” Cameron became jittery. “I’ve done as much as I can for Megan right now.”
“Are you off the case?” Wayne seemed disconcerted.
“I’m not sure.” Cameron gave him a long, slow glance and eased up. “There’s a lot I didn’t know when I took the case on. Now I have to think everything over now. I’m only a divorce lawyer. When things become more complicated I back out.”
“Of course,” Wayne agreed softly as Cameron smiled at him.
“You’re a terrific guy.” Cameron’s voice became husky as she walked closer to Wayne, getting between him and Olivia. “I thought that about you the second we met.”
“Thanks,” said Wayne, noncommittally. “Sorry you’re leaving the case.”
“Well, I may be leaving the case”—Cameron smiled oddly—“but I’m not leaving Naples. You can call any time you like.”
Olivia felt a rush of heat flame through her. She couldn’t believe Cameron was behaving this way right in front of Olivia’s eyes!
Olivia boldly interjected herself. “Why do you want Wayne to call you? Do you want advice about what you should do about Megan? Why not ask Wayne now? Time is of the essence.”
Cameron stared at Olivia, appalled. “When Wayne calls me, I’ll discuss it with him!”
Cameron was obviously trying to push Olivia out of the picture. It wasn’t going to work, though, not now. Olivia threw Wayne a quick glance, curious to see how he would handle this.
Fortunately, Wayne jumped right in. “I think Olivia is making an excellent suggestion,” he agreed. “If there’s anything I can do for you, Cameron, please tell me right here.”
“Really?” Cameron looked offended, gathered herself together, and took off without another word.
As Cameron left Olivia threw Wayne a long glance. “That woman is something else,” s
he commented.
“I guess I’m just one irresistible guy.” Wayne tried to make light of it.
Olivia knew she should laugh, but couldn’t. Surprised by her own reaction, Olivia realized that she had zero tolerance left for women who tried to get between her and a man she was with. Todd’s cheating had given Olivia a new strength, she realized. She wasn’t about to let it happen again.
“There’s lot of ladies like Cameron around,” Wayne said casually. “Trying to get the guy’s attention and wiping out the other woman is a game they play. It doesn’t mean a thing.”
“It means something to me, though,” Olivia replied briskly.
“I can understand why,” Wayne replied.
Olivia was pleased that Wayne understood and also pleased by his unwillingness to play along with women like that. It was good to see that Wayne wasn’t vulnerable to those kinds of snares.
“Let’s go upstairs and talk to Megan now,” Wayne continued. “She’s alone.”
In the dim light Olivia and Wayne climbed the narrow staircase up to Megan’s room. They hadn’t been up here in her quarters before. Once on the second floor, they walked down a hallway that led to a door that was closed tight.
Olivia knocked on the door. “Megan?” she called.
“Come in,” a muffled voice answered.
Olivia pushed open the door and was startled to see Megan on her knees in the corner of the room, praying. Olivia walked over to her slowly, seeing how distressed she was.
“I’m praying for Tyron,” Megan murmured as Olivia put her hand on her shoulder. “It must have been an awful death for him.”
“I understand,” Olivia whispered.
At that Megan turned around and stood up slowly. “Do you really?” she asked. “What do you understand, exactly?”
“I understand that you’re in pain,” Olivia answered as Wayne came over as well.
“I’ve been in pain for a long, long time,” said Megan in a voice that suddenly sounded like a child.
“We’re sorry about that,” Wayne chimed in as Megan slowly stood up.
“But sorry’s not enough, is it?” said Megan. “It won’t help clear my name, will it?”
“No, it won’t,” Olivia agreed.
“My lawyer’s jumping ship too now.” Megan turned to Olivia. “Once things go downhill, friends desert you like sinking rats. You can watch them just running away.”
“Not all of them,” said Olivia, realizing how tough this had to be for Megan. “I’m not going anywhere. Neither is Wayne.”
“But the two of you are gathering evidence against me as well, aren’t you?” Megan replied.
“I wouldn’t put it that way,” said Wayne. “We’re trying to see things from the largest possible perspective to find out how we can best serve.”
“And what if they decide that I’m guilty?” Megan began shivering.
“If things get too bad, there could even be a plea deal available for you,” Wayne said softly.
“A plea deal?” Megan was horrified. “Why would I need a plea deal for?”
“The police have now been given a video of Tyron yelling at you,” Wayne responded. “It goes to motive. There’s just one thing after another.”
Megan stumbled over to a nearby lounge and sprawled out on it. “Who gave it to them? Bella, right?”
“Yes, that’s right,” said Olivia.
“Bella’s trying to deflect the attention from herself onto me!” Megan yelped. “Bella’s always been possessive of Tyron and incredibly jealous of me and his family. She once even said that Tyron belonged to her, that she was his only real family. Where would Tyron be without her taking care of him? Nowhere!” Megan was now becoming more and more distraught.
“That’s not proof that she killed him though,” Wayne insisted. “Just the opposite. It sounds like she really cared.”
“So, you also think Bella cared about him? You don’t think I did, only Bella?” Megan was beside herself.
Olivia wanted to change the focus of the conversation, to calm Megan down and offer another way of framing things. “Did Tyron yell at you often?” Olivia broke in then. “Would you call this a case of domestic abuse?”
At that Megan smiled eerily. “The word abuse doesn’t apply in my marriage,” she whispered. “Don’t even go there. Tyron gave me oodles of money to do with whatever I liked. Anyone who knows that will ask how the marriage was abusive.”
“Money can be used in lots of ways,” Olivia replied. “Did Tyron control you with his money? Did he think it gave him the right to abuse you?”
“You’re smart, Olivia, I’ll give you that,” said Megan. “But you’re wrong there. Sure, Tyron was a bastard and at times I hated him, but I also loved him. We were good to each other in the beginning, before he got sick.”
“And afterwards?” asked Olivia.
“After he got sick, Tyron pushed me away a lot.” Megan was whimpering. “He was upset and started letting it out on me. He was ashamed of the condition he was in. I can’t say I blamed him.”
“So you two had an understanding?” Wayne quickly asked. “You would let him see his escorts and he’d let you do what you liked?”
Megan perked up. “Sure. Even before he got sick Tyron never stopped me from doing whatever I liked. He wasn’t stupid. He knew there was a huge age difference between us.”
“He didn’t stop you from seeing other guys?” Olivia asked.
Megan shrugged offhandedly. “We just never discussed things like that, ever.”
“Did you see other men during your marriage?” Wayne felt compelled to jump in.
“I did, from time to time,” Megan murmured. “It wasn’t a big deal. It didn’t mean much to me or to them either.”
“None of them meant much to you? Nobody?” asked Olivia quickly.
Megan looked over at Olivia carefully. “No,” she replied.
“Not even Clay?” Wayne interjected.
At that Megan looked away. “Clay was different,” she said softly. “He was the only one who was kind to me.”
“That meant a lot, didn’t it?” said Olivia, leading Megan on.
“Yes, of course it did. Why wouldn’t it?” Megan insisted. “It’s not so often you find a guy that’s kind.”
“That’s why you spent time alone with Clay in Mexico City?” Olivia asked.
Megan smiled. “You know about that, too? So what? Is it so terrible? Am I the worst woman in the world? Yes, sure, I spent time with Clay alone in Mexico City. He was kind to me and deserved it.”
“Deserved what?” asked Wayne.
“Clay deserved the pleasure of a woman who cared for him.” Megan’s voice grew ragged. “His life with Alice had become a total nightmare. I saw it myself right under my eyes. He was trapped like I was in a horrible marriage.”
“Did you fall in love with Clay?” Olivia had to ask.
“I don’t know what falling in love means,” Megan answered fitfully. “I told you Clay was kind to me. I was grateful.” Megan ran her hands over her taut face. “Neither of us ever said a word about falling in love. Who talks like that anymore?”
“Megan,” Wayne obviously decided to up the ante, “did you have an abortion recently?”
A long, sorrowful moment passed before Megan could speak. “I didn’t want to,” she said, pitifully. “I had no choice about it.”
“Why not?” Olivia was electrified. “Who insisted you have it? Did they threaten you?”
“No one threatened me,” said Megan, “but there’s not always a choice.”
“Was it the father of your child who insisted you have the abortion?” Wayne demanded.
“That wasn’t the reason.” Megan’s voice dropped to a whisper now.
“What was the reason?” Olivia had to know.
“It’s not your business anyway.” Megan flipped her hair off her face swiftly. “I just did it, that’s all. And there’s no going back now.”
“It’s an important part
of the picture,” Olivia continued. “Is that the reason Tyron became so enraged with you? Is it why he was yelling at you like that on the video?”
“Why should Tyron be enraged about it anyway?” Megan’s voice became more shrill. “The baby wasn’t his. That much is obvious, isn’t it?”
“Who was the father? Tell us,” Olivia demanded.
“Never.” Megan immediately clammed up.
“I believe it was Clay,” Wayne interjected.
“Believe what you want! I don’t care.” Megan turned away.
“It seems like you got rid of the baby because Clay was married to Alice! You’re protecting someone! You’re protecting him!”
“No,” said Megan emphatically. “And it doesn’t matter who the father was either. It’s irrelevant to everything.”
“And maybe it isn’t,” Olivia exclaimed. “It’s possible that the father of your child killed Tyron because he wanted you for his own, isn’t it?”
“Nobody wants me for their own,” Megan wailed loudly then. “Enough! Enough!” She held up both hands.
“The more you tell us the better it will be,” Wayne warned, emphatically. “You’re in trouble now, Megan.”
“Nothing will ever be good for me, will it?” Megan replied. “I didn’t hire you to tell me that I was in trouble. I hired you to find the killer, to clear my name.”
“How can we clear your name when one piece of evidence like this comes up after another?” Wayne shot back.
Megan was now trembling. “What other evidence?” she asked in a frightened tone.
“Did you know that Tyron was in the process of cutting you out of his will?” Wayne added.
Megan sighed. “Yes, I knew that,” she answered with a strange look of resignation.
“The changes in his will weren’t finalized before he died. It was just a matter of days before they would be,” Wayne added.
“It’s true, it’s all true,” Megan finally whispered in a harrowing tone. “I deny nothing.”